Tallgrass plans $5M brewery expansion in Manhattan

Company will also open pub-restaurant in Manhattan

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Tallgrass Brewing Co. is making plans to triple its brewing capacity by acquiring a 60,000-square-foot building in Manhattan, which it will convert into a brewery.

The company expects to begin production at the new location in late 2014. The Neenan Co., of Fort Collins, Colo., will oversee the building’s conversion.

Tallgrass Brewing Co., headquartered in Manhattan, already is the largest brewery in Kansas. Its 2013 production exceeded 16,000 barrels, or 365,000 gallons, of beer. At full capacity, the new brewery will be capable of producing 100,000 barrels, or more than 3 million gallons of beer, each year. The building, a former call center near Manhattan’s regional airport, is on nine acres, allowing room for Tallgrass to expand in the future.

“This new and larger facility will give us the space and ability to be a dynamic and creative brewer of not only more beer, but also those specialty and limited-edition beers that we’ve been dreaming of making since we started the brewery,” said Jeff Gill, president and founder of Tallgrass.

Since switching from bottles to 16-ounce cans in 2010, Tallgrass’ annual sales revenues have increased by an average of 72 percent every year. Last spring, Tallgrass expanded into the Chicago market.

Tallgrass anticipates 3,000 to 4,000 monthly visitors at their new production facility, which would make it one of the area’s top tourist destinations.

“We decided early on that this needed to be more than just a place to make beer. We wanted it to be a showplace, a unique and welcoming location we would be proud to show off to our loyal Tallgrass beer drinkers,” Gill said.

Last week, Tallgrass announced plans for The Tallgrass Taphouse, a small-scale brew pub and full-service restaurant opening in downtown Manhattan later this year. The Taphouse will be approximately 5,900 square feet with a seating capacity of around 200. The pub-restaurant will serve unique Tallgrass beers made on the premises, special guest tappings from other breweries and Tallgrass’ other popular brands.

Tallgrass Brewing Co. was started in 2007 by Gill and his wife, Tricia. Its products, which include Pub Ale, Velvet Rooster, Buffalo Sweat Stout, 8-Bit Pale Ale and other brews, are distributed in 13 states.

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As a fan of IPA beers, I like their Ethos and Oasis brews a lot. And I especially like that Tallgrass cans their fine beers instead of bottling them; less glass to carry makes recycling runs much less of a hassle for us consumers.